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Soon to be here! Newbie questions! =D

My 2nd son Michael will be here soon, I'm already 1cm dialated but I have a scheduled c-section March 28th.

Either way I know it will be a c-section due to a previous c-section.

My first son, I had no support, I went through 15 hours of labor and it wasn't until an hour later did I get to try to breastfeed and was tired, hurting, and again no real support. The nurse was afraid I would get depressed to she offered formula.. a little too strongly now that I think back.

Either way, the past is the past. I want to exclusivlely breastfeed Michael and I'm looking forward to it. My husb and (who is not my first sons true father, but may as well be ) is incredibly supportive, as well as his family. All know my intentions and have helped me with research, which is good.. but as I come to the end of this pregnancy I realized I have some more questions unanswered.

We're going in at 5:30am to get the c-section, I've been told the routine is this, 1 hour of fluids for me, the operation, back in recovery for 1 hour, and then into my private room for three days then home. Pretty simple right?

My mind is whirling.. a) will the epidural mess with my milk, b) I've been told my milk won't come in until 6 days (?!?!?!) with a c-section. and c) that it is very painful to breastfeed with a c-section, which is why the hospital has you suppliment until you are stronger..

I do NOT want to suppliment, I want to exclusivly breastfeed..

I've heard that some women have skin to skin contact with their child after a c-section and breastfeed successfully, but if I have to be moved to recovery for 1 hour without my child will that create issues?

I'm know it's my rights, but if its understood that I have to be in recovery for 1 hour, can I have my son in there with me? Or even as soon as he's born? I'm not sure what to say or how to say it I guess.. I remember how scary it was for me the first time, and they just wisked me away to a room to monitor me after the operation and then after I got into my room it was another 15 minutes before I had my son in my arms.

I plan on sleeping a LOT the day before and have been eating very well so I can keep up my energy, plus I won't be going thru 15 hours of labor, it looks like technically 3 total then I get my son.

I maybe overreacting but I want to breastfeed, I want to succeed but I'm worried of the "downfalls" or the situation. What can I do to help me succeed.
I guess I'm scared, I have the support but inside I'm worried it's not going to work. I want this.. badly..

Re: Soon to be here! Newbie questions! =D

Congratulations in advance on your baby! Also, good job with wanting to start out on the right foot!!

a) I'm not sure about the epidural messing with your milk, but in general, it's generally accepted that interventions as a whole can complicate matters. However, if you're asking whether it will make your actual milk unsafe, then no, it's fine

b) 6 days for milk to come in after a c-section is NOT a good general rule of thumb. It's true that your milk may take longer to come in and it's also true that it could take six days, but it's not what I'd be counting on. I had a c-section and mine came in on the 4th day.

c) It is NOT any more painful to breastfeed with a c-section, that's crazy talk. Don't even let them THINK about supplementing your baby unless he's already loss more than 10% of birth weight. Mine lost 10% in 4 days, but I stuck with it, and 48 hrs later she'd already regained half of that back - got back to full birthweight in about 10 days. Supplementing can really easily sabotage your efforts to get breastfeeding off to a good start.

As far as the other stuff about having contact with the baby after your section, it's mainly going to depend on your hospital's policies. However, make sure you ask for every single thing you want - and don't feel weird for one second. They may not give you everything you ask for, but you may end up getting more immediate contact with your baby than a patient who didn't speak up. Ask to have your baby immediately, ask to be able to nurse him in the recovery room, etc.

Re: Soon to be here! Newbie questions! =D

Excellent advice from PP.

I had two c-sections, both planned d/t breech presentation. Your first experience is going to differ from your second. Knowing what you are getting into ahead of time can make all the difference. I read a TON beforehand with my first, and while I regret having never given vaginal birth, I felt confident going into it b/c I knew what to expect. You didn't have that luxury with your first, but you do now!

Google "c-section and breast feeding". You will find a ton of info, some better than others. I would go to the Kelly mom website; she has several good articles.

Epidurals are completely safe with breast feeding. The pain meds they give you afterwards can make your baby sleepy, but are otherwise okay.

My milk came in on day 4-5; I had a very sleepy baby the second time, and she lost 12% of her birth weight. I didn't supplement, just kept waking her little butt up and putting her to the breast. She then gained 7oz in 2.5 days o.O My eldest didn't have any kind of problem; he didnt get as sleepy as his sister, so his milk came in earlier.

The idea that c-sections make it too painful to breastfeed is ridiculous. That's what drugs and the football hold is for Read up on Kelly mom about it.

Re: Soon to be here! Newbie questions! =D

Thank you so much for the responses, let me ask 1 more, if your milk doesn't come in until such and such days, will LO get what he needs during that time from continuous bfing? I plan on jumping (gently LOL) into it and as soon as they allow (and I will be asking for ASAP, I mean I am paying them right ) I plan to be working on latching and getting him situated on the breast.

I read that your LO's lost some weight, was it due to the milk not coming in? I'm sure these are common sense questions but for me I want to be able to look at the nurse/dr/family member who says, "omgosh he's loosing weight give that baby formula NOW!" and say "It's because my milk hasn't fully come in yet due to the c-section but he is getting fed from what I am providing, give it a few days and you'll see"

I guess I want the confidence to stand my ground with my husband and know that I'm doing the right thing. So yeah I'm breaking it into terms I can handle, !

Re: Soon to be here! Newbie questions! =D

Darn skippy you're the one paying them!

For your first question, babies were designed to lose weight in the first few days after birth. They have a little store of fat under the skin and glucose in the liver that is there to keep their energy up until your milk comes.

C section moms are given fluids before surgery. This artificially inflates the birth weight - that fluid goes straight to the baby, and can give them several extra ounces they wouldn't have had otherwise; therefore, part of the weight "loss" is just them purging that fluid. That's one thing you can tell anyone who's pushing you to supplement.

Your baby will live the first few days on his/her body stores and your colostrum. That's a sort of pre-milk that contains lots of antibodies and is all a baby needs in the first few days.

Supplementing is the way to delay milk even longer. Your supply is directly tied to demand, so if your baby needs to eat and is given formula instead of nursing, that's as though your body thinks he/she doesnt need to eat, and signals the breasts to lower their production.